wife green card was approved

[carvin317 0]

my wife's green card was approved and we received the notice. She got hired on by a gym and they want to know if she can start on weds. We received her notice 7 days ago. Can she work without her greencard in hand if it has already been mailed ? They are short staff and all or should she just wait?

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Wouldn't a better title topic for this post been.. "Can wife work before actual GC rev'd in hand, approval notice recv'd via e-mail."

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Wouldn't a better title topic for this post been.. "Can wife work before actual GC rev'd in hand, approval notice recv'd via e-mail."

\Sorry, I thought I was still in work mode.

[HeatDeath 430]

The law states that prior to the end of the third day of employment, all employees must fill out an I-9 work authorization form and show the required documents to their employer. Your wife will be unable to truthfully fill out this form unless she has her green card in her hand, and her employer will be unable to truthfully sign the form if they have not seen and inspected the green card.

It is highly unadvisable, for both the employer and the employee, to knowingly misrepresent the facts on this form by, for example, fudging the work start date so that it is within 3 days of when the form was signed. If there is a conflict between any of the start date of record, the issuance date of the green card, and/or the date the I-9 was signed, it could cause trouble down the road if the workplace undergoes a SSA / CIS audit.

I would recommend she hold off starting until the green card is in her hand.

[zenaxe 22]

The law states that prior to the end of the third day of employment, all employees must fill out an I-9 work authorization form and show the required documents to their employer. Your wife will be unable to truthfully fill out this form unless she has her green card in her hand, and her employer will be unable to truthfully sign the form if they have not seen and inspected the green card.

It is highly unadvisable, for both the employer and the employee, to knowingly misrepresent the facts on this form by, for example, fudging the work start date so that it is within 3 days of when the form was signed. If there is a conflict between any of the start date of record, the issuance date of the green card, and/or the date the I-9 was signed, it could cause trouble down the road if the workplace undergoes a SSA / CIS audit.

I would recommend she hold off starting until the green card is in her hand.

Is the issue the green card or the SSN? Remember the stamp that goes into your passport when you cross over the border and immigrate is your temporary 'green card' which proves you are perfectly legal to live, work and travel. The formal green card is about card production and receiving a card. Much like when you get your Canadian driver's license and you get a piece of paper while you surrender you last one and before the new card is produced and mailed out. You are legal when you cross with the stamp - the green card you receive a few weeks later but I fail to see why someone would be not truthful in filling out the form you mention.

Anyone have a different perspective on this?

[trillium13 84]

Is the issue the green card or the SSN? Remember the stamp that goes into your passport when you cross over the border and immigrate is your temporary 'green card' which proves you are perfectly legal to live, work and travel. The formal green card is about card production and receiving a card. Much like when you get your Canadian driver's license and you get a piece of paper while you surrender you last one and before the new card is produced and mailed out. You are legal when you cross with the stamp - the green card you receive a few weeks later but I fail to see why someone would be not truthful in filling out the form you mention.

Anyone have a different perspective on this?

The OP is adjusting from a K1. There is no stamp put in the passport on entry that could be considered a "temporary green card". If their passport was stamped at interview, that may be a different story, but I am still not sure that would allow the person to work.

Edited May 4, 2010 by trillium13

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Does she have a valid EAD? I don't see why the EAD couldn't serve as prof she is able to work in the US until she is able to produce the GC.

[HeatDeath 430]

The I-9 requires the employer to sign and date that they have personally seen and inspected one of three very specific sets of documents.

These include, for K-1 holders:

A ) a green card;

B ) an EAD card;

C ) an unrestricted SSC AND ONE OF

A US drivers license OR

A US government-issued ID card (state or federal) OR

A school id card OR

A Canadian driver's license;

There are a few other permissible identity documents that can serve as part of combination C, but a K-1 holder is vanishingly unlikely to have any of them. See the I-9 form at uscis.gov for details.

K-1 holders do not receive a stamp or proxy for any of these at PoE. The EAD stamp available at JFK is not applicable to K-1 entrants. USCIS is very unlikely to provide an I-551 passport stamp just so a person can start a job a few days early. Unrestricted SSCs are only provided if you show the SSA a green card or an I-551 passport stamp.

If she does not have an EAD card, she would need a GC to honestly fill our the I-9. There is basically no way around it.

If she has one of these combinations of documents, she can start immediately. Otherwise, she should wait until the GC arrives. If you get the notice a week ago, it shouldn't be long now.

Edited May 4, 2010 by HeatDeath